Archive for December 18th, 2007

From living in the 80s to rescuing orphanages from train tracks, int eighty and c64 rap about it all – and quite well. Following the 2007 release of Zero One comes Dual Core’s second nerdcore album, Super Powers. Fans wondered if the second album could stand up to the first. I’ve had a chance to spin them both (repeatedly) and I can say with confidence that these guys are NOT one disc wonders. (Hooray!) Super Powers tells a twisted story about super heroes, super villains and features other nerdcore artists including Stephanie KB, Odub, YTCracker, Beefy, ZeaLouS1, and MC Wreckshin.

When int eighty – a programmer in Cincinnati, Ohio – and c64 – a graphic designer in Manchester, England met a few years back through an underground hip hop website, it was love at first beat, “His beats made me want to rap,” recalls int eighty, “He quickly became one of my favorite producers.”

While there’s definitely a special place in my heart for albums that sound like they were recorded with a boom box under a pillow in the garage, I’m even more impressed with independent artists like Dual Core who can put out albums with high production value. On both albums, the mix is well-balanced, crisp and clean. (Mad props to c64 for your producin’ skillz.)

The Dual Core style is hard to define. I tried to think of a “Dual Core sounds like ____” sentence, but I’m not entirely sure that’s possible. Some of the beats remind me of the Fugees. The humor and rhythm of some of the rhymes remind me of De La Soul. It’s hard to place. Their music constantly evolves, beats constantly change and the result is a unique mix that doesn’t really sound like anyone else. But Dual Core doesn’t have to sound like anyone else. Their stuff simply demands good bass and bobbing heads with half-smirks.

My favorite track from Zero One: 2 Wycked
an homage to Carl Brutananadilewski from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. (TIDBIT FROM eighty: “We used to randomly yell out Carl quotes at my last job. I would be hacking away on some code and all of a sudden hear ‘1 down, 2 to go!’ or ‘Just say Smith, it don’t matter — none of this matters.’”)

My favorite track from Super Powers: Day’s Work
This song starts off with a reporter asking int eighty to describe a typical day. He um… exaggerates just a wee bit. It’s good stuff. (woo wOOOOO!)

Buy it
The perfect stocking stuffers for the nerd in your life, Dual Core is selling Zero One and Super Powers on their site at: DualCoreMusic.com or you can download their albums from iTunes.